Our Home And Native Slam

If businesses are having issues with states like Indiana and Arkansas's open bigotry towards the gay community, it seems our neighbors to the north want to remind everyone that things are a bit less nasty over the border.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is openly gay, is urging businesses upset by a so-called religious objections law in Indiana to set up shop in her province. 

The Indiana law, which takes effect July 1, does not specifically mention gays and lesbians, but critics say it is designed to protect businesses and individuals who do not want to serve gays and lesbians. 

Wynne says it's completely unacceptable that in the twenty-first century such a "discriminatory law" would be in place and would be used to divide people and create hostility. 

She says she'll raise the controversial law with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence if he attends this year's meeting of Great Lakes governors and premiers. 

Wynne says Ontario does "a fair bit of trade" with Indiana, and while she didn't threaten to curtail that business, she did urge companies looking for a more open, non-discriminatory jurisdiction to consider her province.

You know what?  More power to Canada on this.  Yeah, it's far from perfect, bigotry and racism towards members of the First Nations is a problem (not to mention against the African-Canadian population of cities like Toronto) but socially the folks next door are still way ahead of the politicians running the show down here.

It's just another reminder that we don't live in a vacuum here.  People around the world see the kind of things Republicans are pulling here in the US these days and they're responding to it.